Chief minister Yogi Adityanath is set to expand his 54-member ministry at 3pm on Sunday by making inductions to reset caste and regional equations ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. No one is likely to be dropped from the ministry, people aware of the matter said.
Adityanath, who attended the swearing-in ceremony of BJP’s first West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari and five other MLAs as ministers in Kolkata early in the day, met governor Anandiben Patel at Jan Bhavan and discussed the ministry expansion issue with her soon after reaching Lucknow on Saturday evening.
“Yes, chief minister Yogi Adityanath is set to expand his ministry at about 3pm on Sunday,” said functionaries aware of the development without divulging the names of those to be inducted or elevated in the ministry.
Probables for induction in the ministry include Manoj Kumar Pandey, Pooja Pal, Krishna Paswan, Surendra Diler, former UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary, Ashok Katariya and former ministers Shrikant Sharma and Mahendra Singh.
There are six vacancies in the ministry, which has 21 cabinet ministers (including the chief minister), 14 ministers of state (independent charge) and 19 ministers of state against its maximum permissible strength of 60.
Others aware of the development said the BJP has been working on a strategy to counter the main opposition Samajwadi Party’s PDA formula, so the chief minister may induct new ministers to reset the caste and regional equations. Performance may be the criterion if Yogi decides on the elevation of any minister.
{{/usCountry}}Others aware of the development said the BJP has been working on a strategy to counter the main opposition Samajwadi Party’s PDA formula, so the chief minister may induct new ministers to reset the caste and regional equations. Performance may be the criterion if Yogi decides on the elevation of any minister.
{{/usCountry}}There has been speculation that some Samajwadi Party defectors who recently switched loyalties to the BJP may be rewarded with a ministerial berth.
A Jan Bhavan communique described the meeting between the governor and the chief minister as a courtesy call and said Yogi presented a book titled “Bharatiya Gyan Parampara Avdharana” to the governor.